What Must You Check for When Reviewing Va Form 21 8940
When applying for VA disability benefits through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans will need to fill out several forms. Unfortunately, these VA benefits forms can be overwhelming and confusing, especially for disabled veterans in need of help.
VA Form 21-8940 Instructions: How Do You Apply for TDIU Benefits?
The VA's application for Full Disability due to Individual Unemployability The Unemployability claims form is one of almost hard VA forms to fill out. The form is called VA Form 21-8940, and you tin can observe it on VA.gov.
This particular class is challenging to make full out, considering the VA requires specific information but offers express infinite.
Luckily, there is an easier way to arroyo the veteran's disability application for TDIU benefits. In this postal service, we are going to go over the boxes on this form ane by one. These VA Grade 21-8940 tips volition get y'all started with applying for private unemployability benefits.
VA Class 21-8940 Section I: Veteran Identification Information
This first department on VA For 21-8940 is the most straightforward. Merely fill up out your name, social security number, VA file number, appointment of nascency, mailing address, e-mail accost, and telephone number.
VA Form 21-8940 Section Two: Disability and Medical Handling
This section includes boxes 8-xiii. When filing these out the boxes in section II, think in full general terms.
Box eight : What service-connected disability prevents you from securing or post-obit whatever substantially gainful occupation ? This is sometimes called substantial gainful employment?
Answer : This is tricky. The VA is specifically asking what service-continued disability prevents y'all from working. If you are service connected for a disability that makes you lot unemployable, list the disability here. If, however, you are service connected for Tinnitus (for example), but stopped working due to your bad back (which has not been service connected), then it makes no sense to put Tinnitus in this box. In this case, we recommend that you lot put your dorsum condition in this box (provided that you are pursuing a merits for this). That way, if/when your back condition is granted service connection, your merits for IU will already exist on file.
Other considerations:
- If you have multiple conditions that preclude you from working, limit the answer to the height 2 (such as back and PTSD ).
Box nine : Have you lot been under a medico's intendance and/or hospitalized within the past 12 months?
Respond : If you have received care from doctorsand from a hospital, then respond "Yeah". If y'all are existence treated past just i, and so list which i. The side by side boxes volition provide space to give facility/doctor data.
Box 10 : Date(s) of handling by doctor(s)
Answer : The best way to answer this question is to think in terms of frequency – not exact dates. How ofttimes do yous receive handling? Weekly? Monthly? Every ii weeks? Twice a year?
Annotation: This question refers only to treatment that y'all are receiving for the status that you listed in Box 8 .
Box xi : Name and address of doc(s)
Answer : If you are beingness treated by a individual doctor, listing the medico's proper noun and address in this box.
- If you are existence treated past more than ane private doctor, you lot tin include a dissever attachment with the names and addresses.
- If y'all are existence treated by VA doctors, and so list the doctor's proper name and the VA facility you go to.
- Remember: this data only applies the condition that you listed in Box 8
Box 12 : Name and address of infirmary
Answer : If you accept been or are beingness treated by a private hospital, list the facility name and address in this box.
- If you are beingness treated at a VA facility , merely list the facility name, city and state
- Remember: this data but applies the status that you listed in Box viii
Box 13 : Appointment(south) of hospitalization
Answer : Refer to Box 10
VA Course 21-8940 Section III: Employment Argument
This section refers to Boxes xiv-22. When answering these questions, be mindful that the information you provide must be in the context of the disabling condition that you listed in Box eight .
Box 14 : Appointment your inability affected full-time employment
Respond : Consider the question like this: When did your condition start affecting your full-time employment? Or, when did your status commencement affecting your piece of work performance?
- If you are having trouble with a appointment, think about this: Was in that location a time when you started getting written up, missing piece of work for doctor's visits, calling out sick, getting your shift covered?
- More often than not, a month and year is sufficient for this question
Box 15 : Date you last worked full-fourth dimension
Answer : This can be when you transitioned from total to office time, or from gainful employment to not working at all or marginal employment.
Box sixteen : Date you lot became also disabled to work
Answer : This is the engagement that you lot stopped working due to the condition listed in Box 8. If you cannot remember the verbal date, a calendar month and yr volition suffice.
Box 17A : What is the most you ever earned in i year?
Answer : This is a comprehensive question. The VA wants to know how much you accept ever earned in one twelvemonth over your lifetime. If you cannot remember the verbal amount, a ball-park figure volition suffice.
Box 17B : What year?
Answer : Listing the year during which y'all earned the amount that you listed in Box 17A.
Box 17C : Occupation during that year
Answer : List your occupation or chore title for which you earned the amount listed in Box 17A.
Box xviii: Listing all your employment for the last five years you worked (breakdown hither)
Answer : While this seems fairly self-explanatory, many people miss the key phrase in the question: "for the final five years you worked". The VA is looking for employment history for the final five years that y'all were employed , not in the past five years. For example, if yous stopped working in 2010, the VA wants your employment history from 2005-2010.
- The VA wants names and addresses of the places/companies that you worked for. If this information is missing, the VA will send you lot a notice requesting the names and addresses.
- If the company you lot worked for is no longer in business, fill in the information as best y'all tin can, and indicate in Box 18A that the company is out of business organization.
- If yous were self-employed, indicate this in Box 18A, along with the name of your business (if applicable).
Box 18B: Type of piece of work
Answer : Requite your chore title or blazon of work. This could be supervisor, truck driver, salesman, refrigeration repair, etc.
Box 18C: Hours per week
Answer : If the hours varied, give an boilerplate. Y'all can also use a range (35-40).
Box 18D : Dates of Employment
Reply : Use the calendar month and yr that y'all started and left the employer.
Box 18E : Time lost from illness
Answer : This question references the disabling condition(s) that you listed in Box 8. As with the first part of the grade, think in terms of frequency. Did you call out monthly or weekly? Did yous use all your vacation time? Were you lot out two weeks a yr? Ten hours a week?
Box 18F: Highest gross earnings per month
Answer: The VA wants to know the nigh amount of money that you made per month at that particular company. If you cannot call back the exact amount, but do call up what you were existence paid hourly, multiply that number by the hours you worked in a week, and calculate your monthly pay that style.
Box 18Q : Signal your total earned income for the terminal 12 months
Respond : The key word here is "earned" income. This is coin earned from physically working and receiving payment. his does Non include: pensions, retirement, IRA'due south, 401k's, SSD or SSI. Generally, this amount should exist $0. Notwithstanding, if you stopped working within the by 12 months or are working part time, y'all will need to betoken how much you earned/are earning.
Box 18R: If presently employed, indicate your current monthly earned income
Respond : If y'all are not physically working, this amount should exist $0. Even so, if y'all are working, give the amount that you earn per month.
Box 19: Did y'all leave your last job/cocky-employment considering of your disability?
Respond : This question is reflective of the disabling condition(south) that you listed in Box viii. Cheque "Yeah" if yous were fired, laid off, or resigned from your last job because of the disabling status(s). Cheque "No" if you left your last job due to outside circumstances, such as being laid off due to the economy.
Box 20: Practise you receive/expect to receive Disability Retirement benefits?
Answer : In addition to Inability Retirement benefits, this also includes any Social Security benefits, such as SSD and SSI.
Box 21: Do you receive/wait to receive Workers Compensation benefits?
Reply : Self-explanatory
Box 22: Have yous tried to obtain employment since you became too disabled to work?
Answer: This merely applies if yous accept practical to any jobs since yous stopped working.
- If yous cannot remember, reply "No"
- If you take applied for work, listing the proper noun and address of the business/employer, the blazon of work and the appointment applied. There are boxes to list three employers in this department.
VA Form 21-8940 Section IV: Schooling And Other Training
Box 23: Education
Answer: Check the highest level of didactics that you completed. The answers include grade school, high school, and college, too equally corresponding grade levels.
Box 24A: Did y'all have whatever other instruction and preparation before y'all were likewise disabled to piece of work?
Answer : This applies to any education or preparation before you stopped working. This could include trade schools or specialized grooming, such as truck driving schoolhouse, welding school, mechanics, etc. If not, respond "No", and leave Boxes 24B & 24C bare.
Note: you may have used your GI Beak for this.
Box 25A : Have you had whatsoever didactics and training since yous became too disabled to work?
Reply: This applies to any education or training that you had in an attempt to get a chore later on you became too disabled to work. This could include vocational rehab. If not, answer "No", and leave Boxes 25B & 25C blank. Be certain to make full out the dates of training in the corresponding boxes.
Box 26: Remarks –This section is ordinarily left blank. Still, you tin can use this to make additional notes on whatever of the previous sections.
What happens after I file for TDIU benefits?
Once the VA receives this application, they will ship yous a observe indicating that they have received your application and will verify your employment history. They do this by sending your past employer(s) (which you listed in Box 18) a class to fill out (the VA Grade 21-4192). This form will ask the employer to verify the dates of employment and point why you stopped working for that employer.
If the VA is unsuccessful with obtaining completed copies of this form from your past employer(due south), they volition ship you a 2nd notice, requesting that you lot effort to contact the by employer(s) to have them fill out the necessary form.
If you've applied for VA private unemployability benefits and have been denied, the team at Colina & Ponton is here to help. Our experienced attorneys empathise the ins and outs of the disability benefits claim and appeals process timeline, then we can help yous obtain proper disability compensation. We tin as well aid with VA Course 21-8940. Contact us today for a gratis evaluation of your TDIU claim.
What if I don't meet the VA disability rating criteria for TDIU benefits eligibility?
To summarize, according to 38 CFR § four.16, the VA allows veterans with total inability ratings less than 100% to be eligible for TDIU by adhering to the following guidelines:
- If you accept only one service-connected condition, the status must be rated at to the lowest degree lx% or higher.
- If you have two or more service-connected weather, yous must have at least ane condition rated 40% or higher, with a combined rating of 70% or higher.
And then, what if you exercisenot meet those requirements but you nevertheless cannot piece of work? All is non lost. The VA tin can grant TDIU co-ordinate to exterior factors non specified in that statute—these are called "actress-schedular requirements."
These standards are much broader than the traditional schedular rating. Outlined in 38 CFR § iv.16 (b), in order to be considered for extra-schedular evaluation, 2 principles must be met:
- The disability must exist exceptional or unusual that cannot be properly evaluated by the established rating schedule
- The inability must include factors such equally marked interference with employment or frequent periods of hospitalization.
Actress-schedular Total Disability Individual Unemployability?
The path to an actress-schedular TDIU rating grant is individualized, meaning it will take significantly longer than the traditional process of applying for veterans benefits. Broad standards permit for greater discretion at the hand of the VA. Veterans who choose to pursue this avenue should specifically asking extra-schedular consideration to the Regional Office every bit shortly equally possible when working on their veteran'southward application for their VA disability claim. The Regional Office is required to fix a full statement regarding the veteran's service-connected disability, education and employment history, etc. This statement will and so exist sent to the Direction of the Compensation and Pension Service for review based on the extra-schedular requirements for VA benefits.
One time received, the manager volition complete a thorough review of your employment and educational history. The VA typically does non like to laurels TDIU based on the extra-schedular requirement, however, this does non mean that information technology is impossible. While all testify is important, it is especially pregnant in the extra-schedular lane. Getting statements from past employers, buddy statements from family, friends, and coworkers, vocational/occupational assessments, etc. are all vital to your example.
Source: https://www.hillandponton.com/va-individual-unemployability-tips-on-filling-out-a-va-form-21-8940-part-2/
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